The ACCA at Sussex Uni looks set to maintain its reputation as the place to catch top drawer experimental and electronic music with its very fine Autumn gig calendar. Lucrecia Dalt, Shida Shahabi, Lau’s Martin Green, Gazelle Twin and at the end of this month modular-synth maestro Alessandro Cortini. Well known as the bass player/keyboardist with Trent Reznor’s industrial rock stadium fillers Nine Inch Nails (mainly during their ‘With Teeth’ / ‘Ghosts I-IV’ era), Cortini is also a name-checked solo artist admired for his boundless explorations of the ambient and dark wave .

From anthemic synth pop under the guise of SONOIO to collaborations with Lawrence English and Daniel Avery plus releases on both Mute and Important Records, Cortini has earned his reputation as a key composer, producer and innovator in the intense world of electronic music. A couple of years ago, he even released his own custom designed synthesiser, the ‘Strega’ or ‘Witch’.

Prolific and rarely stationary, Cortini is difficult to pigeonhole. His last album in 2021 ‘Scuro Chiaro’ explored monotone and minimalism, building widescreen soundscapes which haunted and hypnotised. Before that, in 2019, ‘Volume Massimo’ engaged the motoric and orchestral with pulsating impact. Still one thing is guaranteed for the ACCA show, Alessandro Cortini will take you places.

Support on the night comes from Brighton-based producer and synth operator Matt Hodson (aka MATTHS). You might have caught him supporting James Holden at Komedia a couple of weeks ago (he’s also opened for Rival Consoles and LoneLady) and if you want to read his recent SOURCE interview then dive here. MATTHS’ music guides techno to psychedelic places, part improvised and part anticipated, driven by brutal beats, it’s a sound with its own energy. Be sure to turn up early.

Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, Friday 27th October 2023
Get your tickets for Alessandro Cortini with support from MATTHS here
Photo by Emilie Elizabeth